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3.33 AVERAGE
3.33 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Absolutely mind blowing. Picked this up on a whim in a charity shop because I'm desi and I'm blown away by it. The book lulls you into a false sense of security with the very low-intellect slang-packed prose of a bunch of idiot teenage boys causing trouble, and then smacks you with incredibly cutting satire and social commentary. Also loved the slice of life comedy describing the silliness of desi culture.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Suicide
dark
funny
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It has to be good, it mentions Ealing Broadway :). No seriously it is just that my first memories are linked to there, so it did sort of strike a note with me.... But even if it didn't mention Ealing and if it was not taking place in Hounslow it would be good. But you know how I often complain that writers finish off their stories lazily, as if they got fed up by their book and want to finish it off and go gor a pint in their local? Well in this book this is not the case. He ends it with a strange 15 page (roughly) surrealist description (which is still probably the poorest part of the book in my opinion, for it feels a bit alien) of our main hero getting into trouble and then just to be sure he gives us an ever so delicatly placed twist to really end it off. For once there was something I really did not expect in a book... A good read methinks.
I can't say too much about this book because spoilers would ruin it. Trust me, it's a work of genius.
If conflict is what drives a novel, Gautam Malkani's debut, Londonstani, has plenty of fuel. Throw in a narrator who tells the story with perception and humor in an argot comprised of English, Punjabi and urban slang and you're in for an intriguing ride, even if the payoff might leave you skeptical.[return][return]Londonstani addresses a variety of internal, generational, racial, religious and societal conflict. The story is told entirely from the viewpoint of Jas, who is in his late teens. He lives in the Hounslow district of London, an area bordering Heathrow Airport with a significant immigrant population, many from India and South Asia. They call themselves "desis," a term stemming from the Indian diaspora. But there aren't just desis. Jas and his cohorts watch out for their blud (blood/kin), bredren (brother), bruv (brother) and bhanjis (sisters). They scorn the goras (whites), coconuts (someone with brown skin who acts like they're white), pendhus (fools) and spods (boring inferiors).[return][return]Jas' language is such an admixture that Malkani provides a glossary. While somewhat cumbersome at first, the reader eventually picks up on the flow of the jargon, profanity and patter. And it is in this flow, most often when Jas is in a stream of consciousness, that we find the flashes of humor and insight that expose and explore the conflicts.[return][return]At heart, Jas is a perceptive and intelligent nerd. Yet he has quelched those attributes in a successful effort to join a small gang of "rudeboys," the desi version of gangstas who pride themselves on their style and fashion. From the standpoint of his favorite teacher and parents -- and perhaps himself at times -- Jas is throwing away his talents and opportunities to immerse himself in this urban youth culture.[return][return]His rudeboy group is led by Hardjit, a Sikh body builder who loves to fight. The other two members are Armit, a Hindu nationalist, and Ravi, who brags about his sexual exploits, seemingly more imagined than real. While subordinate to Hardjit they clearly rank higher than Jas. Yet as tough and independent as they wish to appear, all four still live at home. The classy BMW they ride around in is owned by Ravi's mom. They are part of "the informal economy," reprogramming stolen mobile phones to earn some money here and there.[return][return]The rudeboys themselves are an amalgamation of conflicting cultural notions. Their independence leads them to distance themselves from some of their parents' traditions. This inevitably leads to what Jas calls "complicated family-related shit." At the same time, they are proud of their heritage and their "desiness." One of the sad historical legacies they tend to embrace is detest for their Muslim counterparts. Thus, when Hardjit fights it is to stomp a gora for allegedly referring to them as "Pakis" and in a pre-arranged battle with his counterpart in a Muslim rudeboy group.[return][return]The latter scene leads an old school teacher to attempt to rescue Hardjit's group, or at least Jas. He hooks the four up with Sanjay, a former desi student who studied economics at Cambridge. Sanjay introduces the group to "Bling Bling economics," takes Jas in particular under his wing and the boys are soon living large as they them move from being menial cogs in the stolen phone trade to relatively significant players.[return][return]Sanjay also helps Jas achieve one of his dreams, dating Samira, the fittest (best looking) Muslim girl around. Jas has to hide that relationship from his friends, who believe it wrong to date a Muslim. Samira's brothers take a similar view of Muslim girls going out with non-Muslims. The reelationship eventually becomes fraught with trouble for Jas, his friends and their burgeoning mobile phone enterprise.[return][return]Malkani adeptly combines the threads of each of these elemental struggles into a generally workable whole. Readers will undoubtedly have differeing opinions on a surprising plot twist at the end. Some may think it bolsters the novel's impact. Others will see it as not much more than a highly improbable contrivance. I lean toward the former but freely admit there's merit in the latter. Yet even if the end might ring hollow, it does not utterly invalidate Jas' unique voice and perspective on life and conflict in a thoroughly multicultural environment.[return][return]Originally posted at http://prairieprogressive.com/2006/07/08/book-review-londonstani-2006/
Reminscent of "A Clockwork Orange." A gang of teenage "rudeboys" in London get involved in a crime-ring that is significantly bigger than they can handle. The story is told in a British Pakastani slang, which is tough at first, but gets easier as the story evolves.
Read for school. This novel gives a sense of fragmentation. The spelling, the slang, the multicultural influences... But that plot twist at the end is what shocked me. It made me think about race and identity. What does it really mean to belong to an ethnic group? The narrator/narrative is really funny though, some of the phrases had me cracking up. He's so sardonic/sarcastic. And there's this self-aware irony that I really enjoyed. But the novel was so long. Not a lot happens -- most of the action occurs in the last 50 pages. Could have done by cutting out a lot more. Tbh this novel really reminded me of a very entertaining B-grade/trashy teen novel.
Read for school. This novel gives a sense of fragmentation. The spelling, the slang, the multicultural influences... But that plot twist at the end is what shocked me. It made me think about race and identity. What does it really mean to belong to an ethnic group? The narrator/narrative is really funny though, some of the phrases had me cracking up. He's so sardonic/sarcastic. And there's this self-aware irony that I really enjoyed. But the novel was so long. Not a lot happens -- most of the action occurs in the last 50 pages. Could have done by cutting out a lot more. Tbh this novel really reminded me of a very entertaining B-grade/trashy teen novel.